Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian women’s cricket team has a chance to medal in the CWG, says Raj Mithali
Shabaash Mithu, the title of Mithali Raj’s upcoming biography, seems to be extremely close to her heart. “My teammates used to say that to me when I received national team runs. Therefore, it makes me think about my earlier days and all of my coworkers,” she said on Saturday during a promotional performance in the city.
Despite just retiring from the sport, Mithali continues to keep a close eye on it and is thrilled to see how the Indian women dominated Sri Lanka in both the T20I and ODI series. Naturally, the performance increased expectations for an Indian gold in the next Commonwealth Games, where women’s cricket will make its debut.
“The margin of error in the T20 format is relatively small. As a result, the preparation phase is crucial. Our crew is incredibly capable. I believe this Indian team can take third in the CWG if we put the right measures in place before,” Mithali said.
The former India captain showered praise on Harmanpreet Kaur, who took the initiative from the start against Sri Lanka and was selected as the player-of-the-sequence in each category. The all-rounder excelled both with the bat and the ball as leadership seemed to bring out her finest qualities. However, Mithali was unperturbed by Kaur’s brilliance.
“She is well-versed in experience. She has previously headed the group. She took my position as the T20 team’s captain for the series against the West Indies in November 2016. It is therefore not a new position for her. Her performance has been good and will undoubtedly help the squad,” Mithali said.
The current equal pay policy implemented by New Zealand Cricket for its men’s and women’s teams has motivated the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket. “It’s encouraging. I believe that everything is becoming better everywhere. Though it may take some time, she anticipated that eventually there will be no distinction between men’s and women’s games.”
